Author: Tatyana Yukhtman

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About Tatyana Yukhtman
Tatyana Yukhtman is the founder and director of Groza Learning Center. A Harvard Kennedy School and UCLA graduate with over 25 years in education, she has helped thousands of LA students build the executive functioning skills they need to succeed.

Posts by Tatyana Yukhtman

HSPT Prep Timeline: A 10-Week Study Plan for Catholic High School Admissions

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Quick Answer: How to Study for the HSPT The HSPT is typically administered in November for eighth-grade students. Start preparation in August or September—roughly 10 to 12 weeks before test day. Spend the first week taking a diagnostic practice test. Focus Weeks 2–7 on the five test sections: Verbal Skills, Quantitative Skills, Reading, Mathematics, and […]

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HSPT vs ISEE vs SSAT: Which Admissions Test Does Your Child Need?

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Quick Answer: HSPT vs ISEE vs SSAT The HSPT is primarily associated with Catholic high-school admissions, while the ISEE and SSAT are widely used by independent private schools. The ISEE is available at several levels for students in elementary through high-school grades and uses scaled scores, percentile ranks, and stanines; it does not penalize incorrect […]

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How to Build Executive Functioning Skills at Home: 10 Strategies for Parents

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The most effective strategies for building executive functioning skills at home include using visual schedules and checklists, breaking tasks into steps, practising working memory games, using timers for time awareness, narrating planning aloud, giving advance notice before transitions, and teaching self-monitoring through reflection questions. Consistent practice helps children gradually apply these skills more independently.   […]

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Executive Functioning and ADHD: What LA Parents Need to Know

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ADHD is commonly associated with difficulties in executive functioning, including working memory, inhibitory control, task initiation, planning, and time management. Research has found executive-function impairment to be highly prevalent among children with ADHD, although the specific skills affected vary from child to child. Executive-functioning coaching can complement clinical ADHD care by teaching practical strategies, routines, […]

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Executive Functioning and Homework: How to End the Nightly Battle

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When homework consistently takes far longer than expected and ends in conflict, the cause is often an executive functioning gap—not laziness. The three executive functioning skills most responsible for homework struggles are task initiation (getting started), time management (having little sense of how long tasks will take), and working memory (forgetting multi-step instructions while completing […]

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Tutoring vs Executive Functioning Coaching: What’s the Difference and Which Does My Child Need?

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Tutoring focuses on academic content—helping a student understand a specific subject, improve a particular skill, or prepare for a test. Executive functioning coaching focuses on the underlying skills that make learning possible, including how a student organizes work, starts tasks, manages time, maintains attention, and regulates emotions. Many students benefit from both. A student who […]

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Working Memory Activities for Children: 12 Games and Exercises That Actually Work

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Working memory is the brain’s ability to hold and use information in real time—like a mental whiteboard. It is critical for following multi-step instructions, solving math problems, reading comprehension, and staying on task. Working memory performance can improve with targeted practice, although the extent to which gains transfer to broader academic and everyday functioning varies […]

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Executive Functioning and College Readiness: What High School Juniors and Seniors Need Now

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College readiness is largely an executive functioning challenge. Applying to college requires managing multiple deadlines across different schools, writing personal statements under self-directed conditions, coordinating teacher recommendations, preparing for standardized tests, and maintaining grades simultaneously. Students who arrive at university without strong executive functioning skills—particularly time management, task initiation, organization, and emotional regulation—may struggle when […]

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Can AI Replace Teachers? What the Research Really Says

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AI Is Changing Education, But Is It Ready to Replace Teachers? Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way people learn. Students can now ask AI-powered tools to explain difficult concepts, generate practice questions, summarize textbooks, or even create personalized study plans within seconds. As these technologies become more sophisticated, some schools and education companies have […]

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Why the Best Learning Still Needs Human Teachers in the Age of AI

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AI Is Revolutionizing Education—But It Shouldn’t Replace Teachers Artificial intelligence is changing education at an incredible pace. From answering homework questions and explaining difficult concepts to creating personalized study plans, AI-powered learning tools have become a regular part of many students’ academic lives. Some schools have even begun building learning models around AI, promoting the […]

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